I woke at 4:00 this morning to a ringing phone. I could see it was my college age nephew who lives in the next city over. He has been taking complete responsibility of himself since his mother is in rehab with a broken leg. Of course my first thoughts were, “What happened . . . is he OK?” When I answered, I heard something I didn’t at all expect. “Can you open the door?” It took me a couple seconds to realize what he was saying. I continued to talk to him to figure out what was happening as I went up the stairs and opened the front door. There he was, safe and sound, phone in one hand and a gallon of milk in the other. He asked if I got his text the night before. I looked and did, but I was sleeping and never heard the phone. He had worked overnight and then drove up to the house. He figured he would get some sleep and then visit his mother. He had it all planned out. By driving at this time, he would beat the traffic rush – which he did. He even brought a change of clothes and such. Evidently he stopped along the way and picked up a much needed gallon of milk. Knowing that there was about an hour drive ahead of him, he put the milk on the floor with the air conditioner on it to keep it cold. We chatted a bit before going to sleep. When he woke up later in the morning, we went over to visit his mom. She was so happy to see him and showed him off to the people she had met in the facility. I busied myself so they could have some much needed mother/son time. Before we left, we talked about the different options for when my sister is released from rehab as they consider the best place and plan for them both. On the way back to my home, we stopped at the store to load up with groceries. My nephew is still enjoying his “I am a college student” identity and loaded up on spam, bananas, and gatorade among other items. We got his food in a cooler for his drive home and after hugs and “You are welcome here any time!” from my mom and dad, he was on his way. I was so impressed at his thoughtfulness, foresight, and ability to take charge of his situation.

I Found God today in the new responsibility my nephew is showing.